Training Montana's Restoration Workforce

On October 2, three of us from Wildlands CPR attended a one day workshop in Butte, Montana titled Growing Montana's Restoration Workforce. Wildlands CPR Board member Cara Nelson spoke about the educational opportunities and needs across the state and was quoted in an article that appeard in The Montana Standard. I spoke on a panel that focused on workforce needs across the state, specifically about training heavy equipment operators to do road decommissioning work. In attendance were representatives from the Operating Engineers Union and the University of Montana's College of Technology. These folks seemed interested in initiating a training program focused on road decommissioning.

It is our belief that more and more road decommissioning will occur across the state with the Legacy Roads funding for the National Forests and the sale of Plum Creek timberlands in Montana. Wildlands CPR will be following up from this workshop to put together a training session that can enable heavy equipment operators to get good restoration jobs restoring watersheds across Montana.